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Gospel of Mark

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September 2026

September 21, 2026

The Fourth Synoptic Gospel

As I reached the point in this semester's class on the historical Jesus that addresses...

June 2026

June 18, 2026

Faith that Learns (Mark 7:24-31; Luke 16:19-31)

Faith that Learns  (Mark 7:24-31; Luke 16:19-31) Syrophoenician woman; Rich man and Lazarus Lakeside Chautauqua...

June 15, 2026

Generosity and Justice (Mark 12:38-44)

Generosity and Justice: Mark 12:38-44 Sermon delivered at the Hoover Service, Lakeside Chautauqua, Sunday June...

February 2025

February 14, 2025

Were the Gospels Anonymous?

Someone asked the question on Reddit of whether the New Testament Gospels were anonymous. Here...

December 2024

December 18, 2024

Prophetic Name Tags

Prophetic name tags? Was it curiosity about what this post could possibly be about that...

September 2022

September 28, 2022

The Synoptic Problem: Beyond the Q-Farrer Impasse?

I have been reading Francis Watson's recent book What Is a Gospel? (not least because I...

August 2022

August 10, 2022

Gospel Nudity

I'm worried that this post will be flagged on social media because of the title....

October 2021

October 06, 2021

Exorcism Left and Right

I enjoyed talking about the story of the Gerasene/Gadarene/Gergesene demoniac in my Sunday school class...

September 2021

September 06, 2021

Jesus Snorted Like a Horse

In a book discussion about my book What Jesus Learned from Women Elizabeth Raine pointed out that,...

September 03, 2021

Was Jesus a Racist?

There has been a flurry of discussion online about the story of the Syrophoenician woman....

June 2021

June 24, 2021

The Most Extraordinary and Implausible Inventions Ever Woven out of Gospel Texts

The lectionary reading for this coming Sunday is one that I devote a chapter to...

April 2021

April 26, 2021

No My Goodness!

Thinking more about the language used in the two texts from Mark’s Gospel that were...

April 25, 2021

God Alone (Twice)

Working on an article about monotheism in early Christianity, I was struck as I hadn't...

December 2020

December 27, 2020

Jesus and Those With Him

I am puzzled why most commentators regard the reference in Mark 3:21 as being to...

October 2020

October 04, 2020

Was Mark on a Roll?

I realize there is significant potential in the punny title of this post. The Gospel...

May 2020

May 31, 2020

The Latest on the Historical Jesus and the Gospels

There has been so much of interest related to the historical Jesus and the Gospels...

May 17, 2020

I’ll Believe in Demons When Pigs Fly

I'll start this post with another tidbit from my Sunday school class from a while...

January 2020

January 08, 2020

ReligionProf Podcast with Sara Parks

In this episode of the ReligionProf Podcast I talk with Dr. Sara Parks about her...

September 2019

September 13, 2019

More on the (Puppy?) Dogs

I've been thinking more about the dogs or puppies in the story about the Syrophoenician...

August 2019

August 26, 2019

When Jesus and Mythicists are Wrong

Here's what I wrote in a comment responding to some of the further discussion that...

July 2019

July 31, 2019

Physically and Socially Dead: What Jesus Learned from Healing Two Women

I initially thought I would most likely explore the stories of these two women in...

April 2019

April 15, 2019

The Owner of the Donkey and the Need of the Lord

There is a double entendre in Mark 11:3 and its parallels, in phrasing that remains...

February 2019

February 02, 2019

The Synoptic Student Problem

I tell students regularly in class that, as a professor of New Testament, I have...

January 2019

January 25, 2019

Reading the Gospel of Mark (and its Christology) in Context

This is another blog post that existed as a draft for a long time. The...

January 15, 2019

A Hug from Jesus

You know the experience. You are reading something that should be familiar, and yet something...

August 2018

August 25, 2018

Mark Invented the Sea of Galilee

Teaching a class on the historical Jesus, I am revisiting posts from as much as...

June 2018

June 27, 2018

Jesus’ Conversation Paraphrased

Phil Ledgerwood paraphrased the conversation between Jesus and those who accused him of casting out...

June 23, 2018

Satan against Satan

I have long found myself puzzled by the statement attributed to Jesus in the New...

June 17, 2018

Rumors of First-Century Mark and the Resurrection

Daniel Wallace, Craig Evans, and others have done significant harm not only to Christian apologetics...

June 10, 2018

The Fragment Formerly Known as “First Century Mark”

I have not been directly involved with the fragment that had been touted some years...

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